Can You Clear The Full Width of a Right of Way Easement

**notepad1234** · 05-29-2012, 07:21 PM

My question involves an easement in the state of: MICHIGAN

I have a piece of forest property. This property is in back of another property and to get to my property I have an easement for ingress and egress that is 66' wide all the way to the back to reach my property. There already is a simple gravel driveway about 10' wide that we cleared a while back to make a road to get to my property. My question is, because the easement (which is on the other owners property obviously) is 66' wide and is for my ingress and egress use, can I make a clearing through the forest that is 66' wide all the way to the back to my property. The legal description of the easement states its 66' wide but then it goes stating a bunch of liber numbers and page numbers which I do not have access to. Any help is appreciated before I contact a lawyer. I don't have any opposition to this currently, but want to be within the law before I start cutting down tree's to make a 66' wide clearing all the way to the back.

**LandSurveyor** · 05-30-2012, 02:09 PM

You are actually going to have to find those books and page numbers if they are referred to in your easement documentation. All of the conditions of the grant of easement need to be known before you embark on a 66' wide clearing project. The trees in the easement may very well remain the personal property of the servient tenant so even if you have the right to remove them, you might be liable for the value.

Your lawyer can research the easement documents and advise you.

**trafeng** · 05-31-2012, 09:06 AM

Notepad,

Are you sure that this is an easement dedicated to you, instead of an easement for public conveyance that might have been dedicated to the public or a public agency? The reason I ask is a 66' wide easement is something you'd normally expect for right-of-way, instead of a dedication for a single driveway.

If that is the case, then you'd have no right or authority to remove trees.

You need to be cautious here; the obvious question that would be asked by anybody and everybody is why would you need to clear 66 feet of width for a 10' wide driveway? Your motivations will be suspect, regardless of the legality, which I doubt you have.

**notepad1234** · 05-31-2012, 10:03 AM

Im not sure why this would be for public way because its going to the back of my lot and then its no mans land. In the title and deed as well as the survey for my lot it states that the easement to my property is 66' wide and for ingress and egress and also for utilities. When you say public way do you mean also the access for public utilities such as power, etc?

I gave the 66' wide clearing as an example for argument sake, though it would not be literally clearing all 66' wide. There is no mention of a 10' wide permission for a driveway, just the 66' wide easement.

jk · 05-31-2012, 11:09 AM

66 feet is a standard width used for public ROW's. I believe that is why trafeng questions the situation. I cannot say I have ever seen a private easement 66' wide. It is an extreme amount of property if the use is only for ingress and egress from a private property.

Re-read landsurveyor's post again. He is a pro surveyor and quite knowledgeable in such matters. You do need to be sure of the legality prior to removing a single tree. It could become quite expensive if you cut a tree you aren't allowed to cut.

**yyz0** · 06-01-2012, 06:00 AM

Quoting notepad1234

Im not sure why this would be for public way because its going to the back of my lot and then its no mans land.

So the land at the end is owned by a woman then?

Unless your property line is the edge of the earth and if you step off you fall off the earth, someone somewhere owns that land beyond the end of the ROW.

There is no benefit for you from a ROW that crosses your property, so if the ROW is shown to continue across your property then most likely someone else benefits from it, ie the "no man" that owns the land beyond yours. So don't be surprised if in the future that "no man" shows up one day driving across your property to get to theirs using the said ROW.

It could be a situation where the ROW was setup with the possibility of turning it into a public ROW in the future if the properties are developed further.